


Rock Bottom

by Jayden_Blues



Category: Heavy Rain, Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Josh Washington Is Rescued, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 22:56:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18838483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayden_Blues/pseuds/Jayden_Blues
Summary: Agent Norman Jayden was in the area when tasked to assist a nearby ranger station when survivors were found, subsequently joining the rescue team for Josh Washington after evaluating the survivors' mental conditions. What they find in the cave is a young man resisting the Wendigo's spirit as he nears the final stretch in transformation. Norman, determined to save Josh, takes matters into his own hands.





	Rock Bottom

**Author's Note:**

> ! ! PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING FOR IMPORTANT WARNINGS ! !
> 
> I am new to AO3 and its archive warnings, and if the current checkbox can be replaced with a more fitting option I will change it. 
> 
> Now we get to the warnings:  
> 1) Profanity (using God's name in vain aka god d***n) I say this in case of religious sensitivity.  
> 2) Josh is forced to regurgitate everything in his stomach. If you're not comfortable reading someone's fingers being shoved down someone's throat, do. Not. Read. It may be brief, but if it is upsetting, skip over to the next paragraph, line, etc.
> 
> Other than that, I hope you enjoy this crossover that was created back in October!

_He's just a kid._

It was a mantra Norman clung to, reluctant to hold a young adult at gunpoint.

_He’s just lost._

_He's just hurt and alone._

_He's just a kid._

The broken cries of hunger and agony mixed together in a nightmarish growl, lips beginning to curl back with teeth protruding from them.

_He can be saved, can't he?_

"Joshua," Norman began, gentle and firm. "I don't wanna hurt you, but I need you to try and center yourself."

Mossy hues gleamed in their own plea for help, contrasting with the frenzied movements of his fingers clenching and relaxing.

"Your friends told us where you are. They care about you—they want you home." Norman coaxed, beginning to feel relieved when Josh slowed his movements. Not by much, but it made a difference. "Sam warned me of the dangers, told me that she wanted to make amends."

At the sound of Sam's name, Josh perked in attention and began to still his motions.

"And your friend, Chris? You know what he told me?" Norman continued, slowly inching closer to the young man.

Josh cornered himself in fear when Norman and the police arrived and considering the physical changes, Norman was walking on thin ice.

Backing an animal into a corner was one thing.

It was another ballpark to threaten a Wendigo.

"He said he wanted his friend back. He wanted to apologize and laugh with you again." Norman confessed, beginning to lower his weapon when the glaze over Josh's eyes lessened.

_Almost there, you can make it, Josh._

"M-M…" Josh whimpered, trying to speak with a pained expression. "Monster…I'm a monster."

"No, you're not a monster." Norman convicted, carefully reaching his hand out to clasp Josh's shoulder. "You are human, and humans are vulnerable to a range of emotions."

"They hate me…I tried to…They hate me…" Josh denied with broken words, beginning to hug his arms together. "I'll hurt you too…I'll turn and kill you…"

"Do you want to hurt me?" Norman inquired, clicking his Beretta to safety and holstering it inside his jacket. Lips bit together as if to restrain his answer, shying away from Norman's open hand.

"N-No, but the monster will…I _am_ the monster…"

"If you can contract it, there has to be a way to reverse it." Norman insisted, distracting the man from his thoughts. "How much did you eat?"

"An arm…I was so hungry and no one came. And now I've turned into the thing that tried to kill us!" Josh exclaimed, returning to his frenzied self. Guns began to click behind Norman, watching panic rise inside green hues.

"Put your guns down!" Norman demanded, holding out his arm and turning to the squad behind him. The Rangers were frightened the moment they saw the survivor huddled on the hardwood floor, hunched over in pain. Now they were trigger happy, ready to fire at any given notice. When Norman turned back to look at Josh, he felt his own heart stutter in fear.

Josh had backed up flat against the wall, beginning to whimper in pain as he crawled up the wall in an attempt to distance himself.

"Josh, listen to me, you're going to come back down and throw up everything you've ate." Norman tried to coax, following the young adult in careful strides as Josh's eyes began to glaze over once again. "If they fire at you, I will make sure they're fired from their position. I will not let anyone hurt you, understand?"

Josh tried to speak to the FBI agent, nothing but pitched growls in response when clothes rustled behind the agent. Norman turned back to the rangers, waving his hand downward.

"I said drop your weapons," Norman ordered once again, trying to keep his composure.

The last thing he needed to do was lose his temper and scare Josh further into himself.

"Are you seeing this, Jayden? He's a monster—"

Monster.

That damned word sent Josh into a frenzy, screaming as he jumped from ceiling to floor, to the wall, back to the ceiling, not once stopping for air. Within an instant, Josh crumpled to the ground and cried out as he pressed his hands against his skull.

“Sick fuck…” Josh muttered, shifting to sit on his bottom and begun to rock himself. “Psychopath…Murderer…I…I’m sick! They were right, I’m just a burden, a fucking burden!”

“Josh, listen to me.” Norman began, inching closer to the distressed male. “What you’re going through doesn’t make you sick, you can recover from this or at least be able to mediate it. You are not a problem—you _have_ a problem.”

Josh continued to rock, peeking up to Norman with a forlorn expression.

“I can help you, Josh.”

“Really?” came the meek whisper, struggling to slow his panicked rocks.

“Yes. I studied law and psychology, and I know some great people you can talk to.” Norman affirmed with a gentle smile, stepping closer. “And if not, you can always talk to me. I’m not certified to prescribe you medicine or diagnose you, but I can listen and give insight on what to do.”

Josh’s expression softened, trembling as he found his way on his feet. Norman stood a few arm lengths away, welcoming Josh to compose himself and breathe. Fight the Wendigo head-on with every ounce of strength he could muster. Denial swam inside green eyes, expression tightening into uncertainty and fury.

“Liar! You’re nothing but a liar!” Josh roared, pacing erratically before the FBI agent. “You don’t want to help me, you just want me to fuck off! Just like everyone else does when I need help!”

He began to curl his lips once again, sizing up Norman’s stature with narrowed eyes.

“I murdered my sister yesterday,” Josh explained, smiling humorlessly. “She drags me in here and brought me human meat, and no one cared I was gone! I have been here for three days—three FUCKING days—and I got hungry. I ate some guy’s arm yesterday, burned whatever thing she turned into, and now I’m turning into the monster I deserve to be.”

Norman shook his head, denying the statement as Josh continued with a desperate expression.

“I couldn’t save my sisters from my own friends, and if I wasn’t drinking I could’ve saved them. They deserved to go through what I went through and now I’m the bad guy!” His words grew hoarser as he continued, a stray tear slipping down his cheek. Josh shook his head as he met Norman’s eyes, conviction flooding from his darkened hues. “There’s no hope for me, man. Karma’s got me by the balls and I’m getting what I deserve.”

“You don’t deserve to turn into some cannibalistic monster when you can be saved.” Norman countered sternly, hearing his voice grow firm with gentle undertones. “Your sister turned into a Wendigo, you didn’t murder anyone. What they did to Beth was cruel and you acted in your own sense of justice, but no one deserves to be mindlessly wondering the fucking mountain for who knows how long. You’re human, Josh, you have your own unique emotions. You’re not a lost cause—”

“I’m a fucking _MONSTER_! Didn’t you hear him?” Josh snipped, jerking violently as he forced himself against the wall. Before Norman could step closer, an animalistic screech pierced the air when Josh pivoted to face the wall, smashing his head against the hardwood. Nails dug into the wood, leaving trails of blood beneath his fingertips.

Then began walking up the wall, screaming and crawling quickly across the ceiling.

“Ready! Aim—”

"I said drop your **_GOD DAMN WEAPONS!_** " Norman commanded, pivoting towards the rangers and back facing the howling male. "If you don't put them down, I will rip them from your hands!"

The rangers froze at the outburst, arms wavering in confliction to lower their weapons. Norman snapped his attention to Josh when a hefty thump sounded behind him, locking eyes with a predator inching closer to its prey.

_I didn't want to do this._

"Josh, I don't wanna hurt you, but I'm going to force every bit of human flesh out of you." Norman announced with a broken exhale, steadying his feet as Josh leaned backward in preparation to pounce. "If you attack me, I won't give you a choice."

A growl rumbled in his throat, lunging at Norman with arms outstretched. He stumbled back from the force Josh transferred, planting a foot behind him to stabilize his weight distribution. Norman reached for his wrists, managing to grip them tight as he threw Josh to the ground. Before he could stand, Norman quickly straddled his waist and tried to ground the resisting hands.

"G-Go…" Josh managed in a hoarse whisper, screeching at him in anger within the same heartbeat.

"You don't want to hurt me, remember?" Norman coaxed him to recall, eliciting a chilling howl that sounded like a dog trying to speak for the first time. "Don't you bite me, do you hear me?"

Another strangled howl, seeing reason appear inside mossy hues. Josh fought for control, and Norman prayed to any god that listened that Josh could keep his strength up.

Norman didn't want to bury a young adult or relate the unfortunate events to the group waiting anxiously for their friend to return—whether they still accepted Josh as a friend or not. He didn’t want to tell another parent that their child would never return home again.

He reached for Josh's mouth, cupping the sides of his jaw with one hand as the other began to pry itself between snarled lips. Teeth that began to sharpen into pointed knives, hands that immediately scratched and pushed against Norman's shoulders.

"C'mon Josh, fight." Norman encouraged, hissing as teeth began to sink into his hand. "Don't bite me. Don't bite."

Josh regained control for a moment, lips agape in compliance before closing in discomfort. Norman felt his finger brush against Josh's uvula, earning involuntary jolts and esophagus constricting in preparation to force Norman out. Grunts muffled between his lips, Norman bracing his own stomach as his fingers were nearly engulfed from the panicked muscles. Tears began to form in Josh's eyes, glistening irritably as he shuddered once, jolted up against the man, and lurched over to the side. Norman pulled his leg from underneath his weight, catching Josh by the shoulders before he could fall into the crimson chunks piling beneath him. 

"There you go, get it all out." Norman encouraged, kneeling to have a better hold on him as Josh regurgitated everything his stomach contained. The stench of decomposing flesh rose from the bile, curling Norman’s stomach in the temptation to dry heave. Even after years of investigating corpses and discovering decomposing bodies, not a soul could become habituated to the stench.

Before Norman could sigh in relief, Josh pushed him aside and stood on unsteady feet. The push wasn't enough to knock him over in the slightest but looking up to see the Wendigo's try to take control once again made him grit his teeth.

Puddles of vomit continued to paint the ground, hearing a ranger react with his own pool of bile. Norman brought himself to his feet, holding his ground with his chest puffed in confidence. He hoped for the Wendigo to challenge him, lunge at him again so that Norman could grab another hold of Josh. Instead, Josh shook his head in frantic denial as he continued to lurch forward. He fought for power once again, clutching what hair he could with his fingers. Norman carefully stepped forward, a low growl rumbling in a warning from Josh, who staggered backward and snapped his eyes back to Norman's.

A silent plea for help.

A silent inquiry if Norman would be his next meal.

"I want to help you, Josh. I'll make sure you get the help you need, I promise." Norman gently comforted, relaxing his tensed muscles in hopes of not appearing hostile. Josh made hesitant steps towards him, snarling and stepping backward the next second.

"We need to finish this up." A ranger spoke from behind. "He can't last much longer."

"If you can't bring him back, we'll have no choice but to shoot him." Came the ultimate option from the leader, hearing the residual fear in his voice.

Norman made no move to look behind him, gazing to Josh with pleading eyes. He held no knowledge how he appeared to Josh, opening his arms wide in a final attempt to coax the young man into casting out the demon within. He swallowed nervously as he watched Josh struggle to keep balance, wobbling side to side with each step taken forward. Tremors returned as ferocious as before, shaking Josh with involuntary jerks. He leaned back and forth towards Norman, teasing prey before the predator lunged deliberately.

“I believe in you, Josh.” Norman called out, making direct eye contact. “Don’t back down without a fight.”

A growl left his lips, lunging for Norman with hands extended. Norman had no time to move, feeling his back slam against the floor with a body laid over him. Pressure moved over his shoulder, hearing muffled sobs as Josh’s jaw closed in defeat. Norman wondered if it was the impact that briefly impaired his vision or supernatural ability, but he caught the fleeting glimpse of opaque mist escaping from Josh.

“Jayden!” A ranger called, earning a silent motion of assurance when Norman offered a thumbs up. Josh wept into Norman’s shoulder, fingers bunching the tie and shirt beneath bloodied fingertips. Norman heard himself sigh in relief, confident that the battle was over. He placed his hands over Josh’s back and cradled his head, hoping to provide enough comfort.

“You’re safe now.” Norman soothed, rubbing over the male’s back. Josh continued to weep, muttering broken cries of gratitude. “We’re going to bring you back to the station and make sure you’re warm and fed before we do anything else, okay?”

A compliant nod, reluctantly removing himself from Norman and sitting back on his heels to give the man room. Norman sat up and carefully presented his hand, allowing Josh to move away if he chose to. Mossy hues watched as Norman delicately put his thumb over the open wounds the sharpened teeth left behind when protruding his skin, moving Josh’s upper lip upwards to study teeth gradually shrinking back to normal size.

“Once you get some actual food in you, that should take care of how you look.” Norman estimated with a soft smile. “Ready to go?”

“Please.” Josh immediately agreed, allowing the agent to help him stand. “Are the others there at the station?”

“Yes, but we can make sure they don’t see you coming in if you don’t want to face them just yet.” He optioned, nodding in acknowledgment when Josh offered a weak “please.”

Norman knew that the last three days Josh experienced would leave a lasting scar on Josh, but he was confident that Josh would bounce back from recovery stronger than before. Usually, Norman wouldn’t provide his personal cell phone number to those involved with his cases.

But he knew there would be countless nights lying awake wondering what happened to Josh after flying back to Washington D.C. Josh needed the proper care and patience to recover, something Norman knew he could provide within a moment’s notice, either personally or referring Josh to a more certified professional. Promote growth that would strengthen Josh, the growth that Norman hoped Josh’s friends could nurture when if no professional is available. Norman joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help others along his path, and he was determined to live by his word.

With the threat of the Wendigo gone, he couldn’t help but wonder if he condemned another person to that fate or if he indirectly saved others from being slaughtered by the creature. In the present, Norman was satisfied knowing he brought someone back from turning into a monster. For whatever the future holds, he prayed he made the right choice.

**Author's Note:**

> You may be wondering where this idea came from, and part of it came from various conversations in a discord server and the other part from this amazing video! If you've completed Heavy Rain and Until Dawn or don't mind spoilers, give it a watch :D
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQuIOhFyfnE


End file.
